scopes and other deli-
cate instruments. But
the growing use of
hydrogen peroxide
and gas plasma sterili-
zation now lets techs
sterilize instruments
more quickly than tra-
ditional methods.
Some low-tempera-
ture sterilizers can
even sterilize a non-
lumened item within a
half hour, whereas cycles previously could last for an hour or longer.
• Better biological indicators. When you're sterilizing a load of
instruments that includes an implant, which are often included in
loaner trays used for joint replacements, you must quarantine those
loads until the biological indicator shows that the sterilization cycle
was completely effective. The indicators have improved in recent
years, with rapid readouts available sooner and sooner. We've gone
from being able to know if an instrument set is sterile within 3 to 4
hours of sterilization, to an hour or less, to some indicators even able
to tell you within 24 minutes.
• Rigid containers. Placing instruments in rigid sterilization contain-
ers before running them through the autoclave eliminates the risk of
tears and punctures that can occur in blue wrap, a mishap that neces-
sitates rerunning the instruments through a second sterilization cycle.
Some rigid containers also feature filtered vent systems that ensure
steam reaches all areas of the container during the sterilization cycle
and is dispersed out of the container soon after the cycle ends to sig-
3 8 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E • M A Y 2 0 1 9
• IN THE WASH New technologies make instrument decontamination easier and
faster.
Pamela
Bevelhymer,
RN,
BSN,
CNOR
